Sustainability overview

The Northeast Atlantic Halibut is a data-limited species and the stock status is unknown. IUCN list the species as ‘Endangered’ (but this was last assessed in 1996). There are conflicting results on the species’ population trends. Landings have shown a ten-fold increase since the mid-1990s, which suggests that the stock has been rebuilding. However, caution must be applied to this result because there are very little other data for the stock and it is considered likely that Atlantic halibut is overfished in European waters.

There is better management for halibut in Norway, with a minimum landing size, fishing gear restrictions, and protection for the species during its spawning season. There is a substantial lack of information (particularly regarding population distribution, migration patterns, spawning behaviour, and other biological characteristics), which impedes effective management. In Norwegian coastal waters, north of 62 degrees, there are target long line fisheries that are well managed.

This rating does not include fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic where some well-managed Marine Stewardship Council certified fisheries are in place.

Biology

Atlantic halibut, the largest of all flat fishes, is a thick-set, right-eyed (both eyes on the right-hand side of the body) flat fish in the family Pleuronectidae. It is distributed throughout the north Atlantic, particularly Norway, Faroes, Iceland and southern Greenland, but occurs as far south as Maine in north America and the Bay of Biscay in Europe. It can attain a length of 4.7m and more than 300kg, but it is considered slow growing in the wild. Spawning occurs during winter and early spring. Atlantic halibut become sexually mature at 10-14 years, at around 1.4m in length. The oldest recorded halibut has been 55 years of age yet models indicate that they could live for nearly 100 years! It has been a heavily targeted fishery for more than 100 years and with slow growth rates, high age at maturity and a population doubling time of around 14 years, is highly susceptible to overfishing. IUCN list Atlantic halibut as Endangered (1996) and the species appears on the US National Marine Fisheries Service list of species of concern. Additionally the Project Inshore Phase II Report (2013) noted that under the MSC Risk Based Framework, the species was ranked as the 6th most susceptible species, behind some sharks and rays.

Stock information

Stock Area

Norway

Stock information

Atlantic Halibut is a data-limited species. There has been no quantitative evaluation of the stock. The - IUCN list the species as ‘Endangered’ (but this was last assessed in 1996). There are conflicting results on the species’ population trends: landings in Norway have shown a ten-fold increase since the mid-1990s, which suggests that the stock has been rebuilding. However, caution must be applied to this result because there are very little data available for the species in this area and Atlantic halibut is likely overfished in European waters.

Management

There is better management for Atlantic halibut in Norway, compared to in EU waters. The fishery is managed using a minimum size of 80 cm, however, halibut mature at around 1.4m in length. Therefore, it is unlikely that all of the halibut mature by the time that they can be caught and retained. There are also mesh-size regulations. It is illegal to fish for halibut using gill nets, trawl nets and Danish seines during the spawning season (20 December-31 March). There is a substantial lack of information (particularly regarding population distribution, migration patterns, spawning behaviour, and other biological characteristics), which impedes effective management.

Capture Information

Longlining is generally selective, however, it can result in the catches of ETP species. To protect Atlantic Halibut, In Norwegian coastal waters north of 62 degrees, there are target long line fisheries that are well managed.

Alternatives

Based on method of production, fish type, and consumer rating:
only fish rated 2 and below are included as an alternative in
the list below. Click on a name to show the sustainable options
available.

Wild capture criterion scoring overview

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally sustainable fish. For
full details, please see the full wild-capture methodology available here.

Capture method and ecological effects

Score

Impact

0

Very low impact

0.25

Low impact

0.5

Some or moderate impact

0.75

High impact

1

Very high impact or illegal

Where environmental concerns from any one criteria are so great, a ‘critical fail’ may be triggered and the fishery awarded a default red
rating. For full details, please see the full wild-capture methodology available here.

References

Fiskeridirektoratet. 2017. Leisure fishing with nets in the sea. Available at: https://www.fiskeridir.no/Fritidsfiske/Redskap/Garn.

What’s a sustainability range?

Many of the fish listed are caught in different ways and from
different areas of the sea. Some species are caught in a variety
of ways and this range shows that, within a species, some may be
fished sustainably whilst others unsustainably.

To find out the individual ratings for each fish click on the
ratings button next to the image.

Fish that are being assessed are shown with a question mark icon and "No Rating".

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

To be assessed

Seafood sources indicated as, 'To be assessed', are those that have not yet been assessed and assigned a rating or are undergoing a period
of review. These include sources previously rated by MCS for which the rating has lapsed, due to changes in the market or MCS priorities and
resources. Given that these sources are not fully assessed, the profile should not be used to infer the current sustainability of the
fishery or farmed species.

If you are interested in the sustainability of this seafood source, please let us know by emailing
ratings@mcsuk.org

Rating 1

Rating 1 (light green) is associated with the most
sustainably produced seafood.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 3

Rating 3 (yellow) based on available information; these
species should probably not be considered sustainable at
this time. Areas requiring improvement in the current
production may be significant. Eat only occasionally and
check www.goodfishguide.org for specific details.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 4

Rating 4 (orange) should not be considered sustainable, and
the fish is likely to have significant environmental issues
associated with its production. While it may be from a
deteriorating fishery, it may be one which has improved from
a 5 rating, and positive steps are being taken. However, MCS
would not usually recommend choosing this fish.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Red Improver

'Red improver' ratings are assigned to seafood sources which have been assessed and rated 5 (red) due to significant environmental concerns
with one or more aspects of their management, capture or production, yet credible efforts to improve these issues have been agreed through a
Fisheries or Aquaculture Improvement Project – a FIP or an AIP - and work is underway. Such projects are normally publicly listed at
www.fisheryprogress.org. MCS wants to encourage environmental improvements in fisheries and fish farms, and so does not recommend avoiding
these sources, as we normally do for seafood rated 5 (red rated).

'Best choice' fish are rated 1 and 2, Fish to Avoid are rated 5.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society to help businesses and consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 5

Rating 5 (red) is associated with fish to be avoided on the
basis that all or most of the criteria for sustainablilty
have not been met.